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US congressman is demanding an investigation after armed Israeli settlers and soldiers detained him and his delegation for roughly 90 minutes during a visit to the occupied West Bank, in an incident that has drawn a sharp denial from the Israeli military and escalating rhetoric from both sides.
Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat and vocal critic of Israeli settlement policies, said settlers blocked his delegation's van in the Hebron area of the southern West Bank on Wednesday during a three-day trip to the territory.
He called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to open investigations into the settlers, their outpost, and the conduct of four Israeli soldiers who arrived at the scene.
Khanna told NBC News that armed settlers carrying M4-style rifles initially stopped his delegation, kicked the tires of their vehicle, mocked and filmed its occupants, and prevented them from leaving for approximately 20 minutes. "We were detained for about 20 minutes, fearful of our lives," he said.
He alleged that when four Israeli soldiers arrived, rather than dispersing the settlers, they continued to block the group and told the delegation's translator they were on the settlers' side.
The delegation contacted the US Embassy and was allowed to proceed roughly 75 minutes after the incident began.
Khanna said security camera footage could help determine whether soldiers actively participated in detaining American citizens, including at least one US government official.
The Israeli military, cited by NBC News, said troops were quickly dispatched to the scene, dispersed the Israeli civilians involved, and reopened the blocked road. It denied that soldiers had participated in blocking the delegation. Khanna flatly rejected that account.
"How dare they mistreat people with an American passport that way?" he said, accusing the Israeli military of lying and calling for the settlers involved to be prosecuted.
The US State Department said it remains in regular contact with both Israeli and Palestinian authorities. "We are in regular dialogue with the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority about countering terrorism, illegal activities, extremism and improving stability in the West Bank," a State Department official told Anadolu Agency, adding that Washington "condemn[s] criminal violence by any party in the West Bank."
Khanna claimed the settlers involved were connected to Yinon Levi, also spelled Levy, whom he accused of violence against Palestinians.
Levi has been accused by the Palestinian Health Ministry and Israeli human rights group B'Tselem of shooting and killing a Palestinian activist connected to the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land in July 2025.
The Biden administration had sanctioned Levi for violence against Palestinians, but those sanctions were lifted in January 2025, shortly after President Donald Trump took office.
The West Bank has remained under Israeli military occupation since 1967. Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and foreign visitors has drawn repeated international condemnation, though prosecutions of settlers remain rare.
Hebron, where the incident took place, is one of the most contested cities in the West Bank, home to both a large Palestinian population and a small but heavily guarded Israeli settler community.
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